Currently, Lin Heyu’s phone contained some old files he had dug up from the archives, as well as new case files sent by Yi Shi. He spent the entire night consolidating the information and found that the old files and new files almost completely overlapped, from the time and place to the individuals involved, with no discrepancies. This also confirmed that the explosion case in Nanyi twenty years ago was the same case Yi Shi was currently investigating.
That death record was deeply etched in his mind. Leaning against the headboard, Lin Heyu calculated the days, vaguely worried that every time the day dawned, it meant one less day of safety for Yi Shi.
“Lao Lin, what’s up with you? Ever since you came back from the archives, you’ve been off.” Yuan Maoqiu sat down and gave Lin Heyu a push.
Lin Heyu shook his head. Anything related to Yi Shi had to be kept inside. Even his best friend couldn’t be told.
Seeing that Lin Heyu wouldn’t speak, Yuan Maoqiu spread his hands, assuming it had something to do with relationships, perhaps a crisis with that beautiful young man.
According to the information Yi Shi provided, the explosives were linked to a man named Yang Weiyi, who worked at a chemical plant in Muli City. On the surface, he had no connection to Pang Daozi, but after careful investigation, it was discovered that they had once been coworkers and had kept in touch intermittently over the years.
This Yang Weiyi lived in Qinghu Township, Nanyi, where his family ran a wedding photography shop. Lu Caiyun was his wife.
To his colleagues and neighbors, Yang Weiyi was an honest, straightforward man with a kind personality, not the kind of person who would commit such a shocking crime. This time, Pang Daozi approached him, asking him to use his position to provide certain chemical materials, offering in return a girl from the hostages for Yang Weiyi to raise.
Lin Heyu turned another page in the photos. According to Yang Weiyi’s confession, his only son had a kidney problem, and his prognosis was not good, with little chance of surviving to adulthood. Since Lu Caiyun couldn’t have any more children due to health issues, the couple wanted to adopt another child, so that if their biological son passed away, they would still have an adopted daughter to rely on.
Lin Heyu furrowed his brow—something didn’t add up. If they simply wanted to adopt a child, they could have gone to an orphanage. Why take the risk of dealing with Pang Daozi?
This was also a point of confusion for the pretrial officer in Nanyi.
[Question: You could have adopted a child from an orphanage. Why go through Pang Nengshui? Didn’t you know that human trafficking is illegal?
Yang Weiyi: I knew, but Pang Daozi said he would take care of everything, that there would be no problems. At first, I didn’t want to agree, but he was so intimidating that I was afraid of offending him, so I had no choice but to comply.
Question: So, are you saying he forced you to participate in planning the bombing?
Yang Weiyi: I didn’t participate in the factory bombing at all! I knew nothing about it! I had no idea what he needed those materials for, and if I’d known it was for making bombs, I would never have agreed to get them!
Question: Among the materials he asked you to provide were potassium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, sulfur, and so on. As an experienced chemical worker, didn’t you recognize their potential use?
Yang Weiyi: I really didn’t know… He said he needed them to reclaim some wasteland at home. I always thought he needed them for pesticides or fertilizers; I had no idea he wanted to make bombs!]
Yang Weiyi’s feeble defense was full of contradictions, repeating the same phrases like “I didn’t know” and “I wasn’t aware” throughout the transcript. When questioned again about the adoption, he insisted it was due to Pang Daozi’s threats, which contradicted his earlier statements of not being involved in the bombing plan. After all, the stakes were high—no one would risk abducting a child for mere fertilizer.
Meanwhile, Lu Caiyun and Yang Weiyi’s mother claimed to know nothing about it. They said Yang Weiyi never mentioned the matter to them, and that the girl hadn’t even been brought home before the explosion at the factory occurred, after which Pang Daozi became a nationally wanted criminal.
Lin Heyu pondered this repeatedly, his doubts deepening. Theoretically, the progress of the cases in both worlds should be the same. Since the gardenia had already appeared in Lu Caiyun’s home, there was no reason it wouldn’t have appeared on the other side. This discrepancy suggested two possibilities: either the Yang Weiyi family was lying, hiding some unknown truth, or the two worlds’ cases were generally similar, but differed in details due to human and material factors.
To get to the bottom of this, Lin Heyu arranged for Zou Bin and Jian Ru to visit the bridal photography shop again, this time with Shen Ruirui, borrowed from Sheng Guoning, posing as Zou Bin’s soon-to-be wife.
Lu Caiyun usually stayed at the shop. When she saw Zou Bin again, this time with his girlfriend, she was convinced that this deal was as good as done. Shen Ruirui’s acting was Oscar-worthy—she carefully studied the price list, frowning and biting her lip occasionally, even asking Zou Bin if they could exceed the budget.
Zou Bin played the part of a wealthy man, pointing to the bottom of the price list. “How about we go with this 8,999 yuan package? It includes two extra outfits and more photos, albums, and displays than the others.”
Lu Caiyun seized the opportunity. “Yes, and this package also includes two 32-inch wall-hanging portraits—one for the living room and one for the bedroom. A beauty like you shouldn’t miss out on having big photos hung up!”
Shen Ruirui smiled shyly and pointed at the diamond-encrusted wedding dress in the display window. “Boss, if I go with this package, can I wear that dress with the diamonds?”
“Of course, you can. You can try it on right now, and we can even adjust the waist and bust for you.”
Lu Caiyun then retrieved the wedding dress from the display window. Jian Ru, ever the helpful youth, assisted with moving the mannequin and casually asked if the child was upstairs since it was so quiet today.
Lu Caiyun awkwardly smiled and said her daughter wasn’t home. The old lady didn’t like her, so she had to send her to a relative’s house in the city for a few days.
“Ah, but these days, society values gender equality, right? Having a daughter is much easier, too.” Jian Ru gestured towards the courtyard. “Is the old lady alone in the courtyard? Doesn’t she get lonely?”
“She’s not home either—she went out to play cards.” Lu Caiyun sighed. “Tao Tao is so well-behaved and never causes any trouble at home. She even goes out of her way to avoid her…”
“Some elderly people are just like that—they can’t shake off their old-fashioned preference for boys over girls,” Jian Ru replied with a smile. “But I feel like you’re a responsible mother. Protecting your daughter like this means she can grow up healthy under your care.”
Lu Caiyun was momentarily stunned, then shyly smiled. “Thank you, I hope I can raise her well.”
After a moment, Lu Caiyun draped the heavy diamond-encrusted wedding dress over her arm and led Shen Ruirui to the dressing room. Shen Ruirui smiled at Zou Bin. “I’m off to try on the wedding dress, okay? It might take a while, so just wait here.”
Zou Bin nodded knowingly. “Take your time; no rush.”
Once the two women disappeared around the corner, Zou Bin quickly moved to the iron gate to keep watch, ensuring the old lady was indeed not around. He signaled to Jian Ru.
Jian Ru nodded, immediately heading to the cashier’s counter at the entrance to temporarily disable the second-floor surveillance. He had noted last time that Lu Caiyun’s surveillance system was the cheapest, lowest-performing black-and-white camera available, with fuzzy pixels and no audio recording. The software ran on autopilot and didn’t require a password, which conveniently worked in his favor.
Zou Bin leaned against the corner, keeping an eye on the restroom while Jian Ru, moving swiftly, donned gloves and quietly pushed open the door to the second-floor bedroom.
The girl was smart—she had found a way to signal for help under strict conditions. If she had been moved elsewhere, she would surely have left behind some important clues.
He quietly closed the door, taking out his forensic gear to search the room for any information she might have left behind. The room was filled with photos on the desk and cabinets, mostly family portraits of three, with the boy presumably being Lu Caiyun’s son. There were no photos of Tao Tao, which indicated that she hadn’t been in the household for long.
On the vanity, a cartoon comb held a few strands of black hair, soft as silk. Jian Ru stared at the hair strands for a few seconds, then carefully wrapped them in paper and put them in his pocket.
Lu Caiyun had dyed her hair blonde, and the old lady had a full head of gray hair. These black strands were very likely Tao Tao’s.
The children of wealthy families had their umbilical cord blood and DNA data preserved at birth. After the incident, this information was stored in the police’s genetic database. Since Xiao Shitou was adamant that she was a child from Weisen Kindergarten, just bringing the hair back would reveal Tao Tao’s true identity.
In the bedroom, aside from the photos, there were also many medicine bottles. Large and small bottles were placed on the table. He quickly scanned them: corticosteroids, bumetanide—medications he didn’t recognize. Suddenly, Jian Ru saw crumpled papers in the trash bin and immediately squatted down to check.
He opened the crumpled papers one by one, and each was a simple drawing done with watercolor markers. Despite the chaotic and childish strokes, the scenes were vividly depicted: steep and dangerous mountains, a pitch-black cave, a wooden hut dripping with night rain… Jian Ru speculated that these were likely places Tao Tao had stayed while being held captive.
She also drew people, a few fierce-looking bandits, each with distinct features. Jian Ru recognized one with a pockmarked bald head as Tu Laogui, and in the last picture of the wooden hut, the person depicted was Pang Daozi. He was holding several long, thin pipes, likely the ones used to make explosives.
Jian Ru didn’t have time to study the drawings further. He stuffed all the crumpled papers into his pocket, then crumpled up a few more papers and threw them back into the bin, placing it back in its original position. Additionally, with his keen eye, he found a few colored stones, and regardless of their usefulness, he decided to take them back with him.
Suddenly, exaggerated praise came from downstairs: “Wow! Honey, you look absolutely stunning in this dress! But I think it might be a bit tight around the waist—do you want to loosen it a bit?”
Shen Ruirui’s similarly coy and exaggerated voice followed, “Oh, I purposely asked the shop owner to tighten it like this. You don’t like it? Then I’ll have it loosened a bit. Madam, could you help with that?”
“No trouble at all, of course, it’s my pleasure.”
Jian Ru rushed to the staircase and looked down. Zhou Bin made a hand gesture: Hurry up; they’re about to come out!
Jian Ru made a rectangle in the air, then mimed a jumping motion with his index and middle fingers. Zhou Bin was speechless and gave him a thumbs-up.
Jumping out of the window? Well, it’s only two floors. Just don’t let anyone see.
With the search in the bedroom complete, Jian Ru moved to the next room. As soon as he opened the door, a strong scent of floral water hit him. After taking a closer look at the room’s furnishings, it was clear this was the bedroom of the elderly woman who favored boys over girls. Jian Ru, standing at the door, was almost dizzy from the smell. He thought, there’s no way the old lady would let Tao Tao into her room if she disliked her so much, right?
Moreover, the room’s furnishings were very basic: a bed, a cabinet, and a table—almost nothing else in sight. Jian Ru took a deep breath outside the door, held his breath, and rushed in to quickly search the cabinet. Another signal came from downstairs: “This one is much better! Sweetheart, are you sure you’re only going to try this one? Don’t you want to try another?”
“This is our store’s most prized dress. I think Miss Shen wearing this as her main wedding gown is already dazzling enough!” said Lu Caiyun.
“Really? But my husband wants to pick another one. Madam, is there another dress to try on?”
The others were stalling for time, so Jian Ru searched the last storage room as fast as he could. Just as Shen Ruirui regretfully said, “Well, alright then,” he climbed out of the window, stepped onto the air conditioning unit, and closed the window behind him.
His movements were as agile as a monkey’s. He stepped on the air conditioner unit and quickly climbed down to the first floor, then sneaked back into the front door and turned the surveillance back on. Zhou Bin, seeing him appear at the door, gave him a look of approval: Not bad, not bad—I might put in a good word for you with Captain Lin and get you transferred to our team!
With the search complete, it was time to find an excuse to leave. Shen Ruirui changed out of the dress, and Zhou Bin was ready to pay the deposit, only to find he hadn’t brought his card. After all that trouble and finally finding the perfect dress, the husband was now messing up at the crucial moment—what now?
Shen Ruirui, in her Oscar-winning performance, rolled her eyes. Zhou Bin kept making excuses, and it seemed like the couple was about to start arguing in the store. The shop owner quickly intervened, saying they could come back and pay the deposit tomorrow; she’d be there every day, so it wouldn’t be a problem.
The awkward moment with the deposit was easily resolved, and the three left the bridal shop. Shen Ruirui stuck out her tongue: “Me, getting married? That’s a long way off!”
Yuan Maoqiu parked the car under a shady tree. The three approached, laughing and chatting, and when they opened the car door, they found their captain, Lin Heyu, sitting in the front passenger seat.
“Captain Lin, how come you have time to be here?” Zhou Bin asked.
Lin Heyu didn’t answer. Yuan Maoqiu said, “Of course, he’s here to investigate. We did a round in Qinghu Town and uncovered some rather unusual information.”
“I found some interesting things too,” Jian Ru said, patting his pocket. “Lao Yuan, you go first.”
Yuan Maoqiu briefly described the situation regarding Yang’s son’s illness, glancing at Lin Heyu as he spoke. It was obvious this guy had conducted the investigation himself, so why make Yuan report it?
Zhou Bin was a bit stunned: “…So they kept the girl around for…old age care?”
Shen Ruirui’s eyes shifted: “Maybe as a child bride.”
“Child bride? Didn’t you hear Lao Yuan say it? The kid might not even live to adulthood.”
Jian Ru was still puzzled: “But that doesn’t make sense—if they wanted to adopt a child, couldn’t they go to an orphanage? Why buy from Pang Daozi?”
Lin Heyu glanced at Jian Ru and suddenly felt that this trip had made the kid sharper than before.
“Orphanages don’t charge money,” Zhou Bin frowned. “Could it be because they can’t choose?”
“But is that a reason to break the law?” Shen Ruirui mused, resting her chin on her hand. “I still think it’s for their son—child bride seems plausible.”
As they debated in the car, Lin Heyu remained silent, but his expression gradually grew more serious.
Yuan Maoqiu, noticing the change, patted Lin on the shoulder: “What’s going on, Lao Lin?”
After saying it, he froze too. Why use the word ‘again’? Was Lin Heyu really acting a bit off these past couple of days?
Everyone stared at Lin Heyu, listening as he finally spoke: “It really is for their son.”
Shen Ruirui was surprised: “…So it really is for a child bride?!”
At this, Lin He Yu pressed his lips together, his tone becoming somber: “More than that, they might be… treating her as a free kidney source.”
